Love Potion Number Nine
by Dreamality
Summary: 16-year-old Ginny Weasely, who feels as though she is the only girl in her year without a boyfriend, has a crush on a certain Slytherin who shall remain nameless. Can Hermione help Ginny lure this guy in with a certain love potion? (Complete!)
1. Confessions of a Witch

**Love Potion Number Nine **

by Dreamality

Chapter One: Confessions of a Teenage Witch

A/N: Good day to you, dear readers, and welcome to the first chapter of my first fanfic ever. I do hope you enjoy it and perhaps leave a review.

**Edit:** Updated on August 14 for minor revisions

Main Characters:

Ginny, 16

Hermione, 17

Harry, 17

Ron, 17

Draco, 17

Crabbe/Goyle, 17

Daphne (Draco's younger sister), 16

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Ginny Weasely, now 16 years old, was sitting at a table in a remote corner of the Gryffindor common room, trying to finish an essay for Herbology class. It was the middle of winter and there was a blizzard going on right outside the window. The only heating provided was the merrily crackling fire, which was unfortunately located all the way across the room from where Ginny sat.

She shivered and rubbed her arms, which were covered by the trademark Weasely Christmas sweater, to try to generate some heat as she stared at the piece of parchment in front of her with only a few lines of writing. It seemed pointless to do this essay, anyway, since Herbology would almost certainly be cancelled.

With a sigh, Ginny gave up even trying, and closed her book and gathered her supplies. She was planning on heading up to her room to write in her diary, but the sight that greeted her eyes when she turned around froze her in her tracks.

No matter how many times she saw them together, Ginny just couldn't get over the fact that Harry and Hermione were actually dating, after all those years of friendship. But there was the proof, right before her eyes. The two seventh years were cuddling in an armchair, the fire casting shadows on their faces. But no shadow could hide the look of love in their eyes as they gazed at each other.

Feeling oddly like she had been socked in the stomach, Ginny quickly trotted up the stairs to the girl's dormitories. She flung her book bag on her bed and rifled through her trunk until she found her trusty pink leather diary and her favorite blue pen.

Ginny wasn't really supposed to have a diary, but she wrote in it whenever her brother, Ron, wasn't around. Her parents were a bit paranoid when it came to diaries, ever since Ginny ran into a spot of trouble with a diary as a first year. She had been using this diary for a few months and no harm had come to her so dar. Since Hermione had given this pink diary to Ginny and it was from a Muggle store, she figured she was safe.

_January 10_

_Just saw Harry and Hermione cuddling in the common room. Too cute. I'm really happy for them, but I just can't help feeling a little sad._

_I'm 16 years old and I've yet to get my first kiss!! All the other girls in my year seem to have passed home plate long ago, while I'm still stuck on the bench._

_Did that make sense? I've always hated metaphors. Anyway... It's not fair. I think I'm rather good-looking. Not horribly ugly or anything, like Eloise Midgen. Sure, her acne cleared up, but there's still the problem of her off-center nose. Yeesh. But Eloise still has a date to the Sweetheart's Dance and I don't. Okay, so it's Goyle, but it's still a date. _

_In other news... my schoolwork is piling up around me, and the more I get, the less motivated I am to do it. It's only January, but teachers are already talking about final exams. That's not for another four months!! Are they completely bonkers?_

_Enough about school. On to the good stuff... I had a very good view of That-One-Hot-Guy-Whose-Name-Must-Never-Be-Spoken at breakfast this morning. He's a very neat eater, not like my slobbish brothers. He seems to know what a napkin is and what it's used for. Such a shame that he's always with Crabbe and Goyle, who are constantly stuffing their faces as if they haven't eaten in a year and a half. Quite a turn-off, really._

_But I can overlook that, since he's so hot. Oh, my brother would kill me if he ever knew who I had a crush on! Sometimes I want to kill myself about it. His family is my family's enemy! He insults me and my family for fun! He's rich, I'm not, he's hot, I'm not, he's Slytherin, I'm Gryffindor! I could list a million reasons as to why I should **not** like him._

_But there are so many reasons as to why I **should** like him... like his gorgeous eyes... his silky smooth hair... his perfectly conformed body... his amazing Quidditch skills...his sultry voice... his cute little smirk... his darling laugh..._

_Ack. Must go now, before I think too much about this._

_Until next time,_

_Ginny Weasely_

Ginny closed her diary and put it away in her trunk, carefully hiding it underneath a few folded-up socks. She grabbed her ratty old teddy bear that she'd owned since she was a baby and flopped back on her canopied bed. Sighing, she tried to think of anything except _him,_ but it was impossible.

Ginny fell asleep in her clothes, on top of the covers, with images of _him_ dancing behind her closed eyelids.


	2. The Book of Lurve

**Love Potion Number Nine**

**Chapter 2: The Book of Lurve**

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Ginny's first class of the day was Defense Against the Dark Arts. This year, the teacher was a very musty, old, boring, and incredibly dense teacher named Professor Hagbags. As he was rambling on about some boring Dark creature, Ginny spent her time passing notes with Daphne Malfoy, Draco's younger sister, who was also a 6th year Gryffindor.

When Daphne's parents found out that she wasn't in Slytherin, they had cruelly disowned her. Daphne spent all her holidays at school, and during summer she went to a tiny little shack her parents had oh-so-kindly given to her. Draco never looked at, spoke to, or otherwise acknowledged that he had a sister, which was yet another reason Ginny tried to use on herself to argue against having a crush on HIM. Despite being a Malfoy, Daphne was really a very nice girl and Ginny was glad they were friends.

Daphne threw a crumpled up piece of paper from her seat to Ginny's, threw rows ahead and half a classroom away. Professor Hagbags didn't even glance up from the book he was reading out of in his wheezy voice. Ginny carefully unfolded the paper so it wouldn't rip and skimmed through what Daphne had written.

_Ginny-_

_GUESS WHAT?!?!?!? You know that super hot, sexy, fine, incredibly good-looking 7th year from Ravenclaw I was telling you about? Rex? HE ASKED ME OUT! It happened this morning right before breakfast. He was really cute, all shy and nervous and blushing. We're going to meet at the Three Broomsticks during next week's Hogsmeade trip, and I have a feeling he's going to ask me to the Sweetheart's Dance._

_I have a boyfriend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Isn't this SO exciting???!!!???!!!_

_-Daph_

Ginny's heart fell. Now even Daphne, Malfoy The Ferret's look-alike, had a boyfriend! What did Daphne have that she didn't? She was a Malfoy! Her father was a Death Eater! Why would anyone want to date someone like that?

She shook her head, feeling foolish and very guilty. Daphne had nothing to do with her family anymore and made it clear to anyone who spoke to her that she did not condone her father's activities and hated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named just as much as the next person. Of course Daphne could get a boyfriend, she was pretty and nice and smart.

Ginny was happy for Daphne. She really was. She really, really was.

Or, at least she could pretendy to be really, really happy for Daphne.

After Defense Against the Dark Arts, the sixth year Gryffindors were supposed to have Herbology, but it was cancelled due to the blizzard that was still raging. They were given a free period instead. Daphne and Ginny went back to the common room together so they could relax in front of the warm fire.

"Rex is so sweet. He game me a rose this morning, one of those enchanted roses that only wilts if we break up. It's so pretty, and it smells just heavenly," Daphne said, sighing happily. "Rex smells really good, too. He has great taste in cologne. He told me I have pretty eyes, and he loves my smile. Do you think I should die my hair? His last girlfriend was Padma, he may have a thing for brunettes."

Daphne rambled on for a few minutes about her new boyfriend, with Ginny just nodding every once in awhile and saying things like, "Yeah... uh-huh... so true..."

On the inside she was screaming, "SHUT UP SHUT UP! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I DON'T CARE?!?"

Finally, Daphne paused for breath, giving Ginny a strange look. "Are you okay, Ginny? You seem pretty quiet."

"Oh, yes, I'm just splendid, thanks. Absolutely fab. You have a gorgey boyfriend that has a marvy personality, Hermione and Harry are practically Hogwarts Couple of the Year, and the one guy I happen to like hates me and my family and my friends and everything that has to do with me!" Ginny spat vehemently before stomping upstairs to her dorm in a sudden burst of anger and frustration that surprised even herself.

Daphne sat in stunned silence for a minute, watching the stairway that Ginny had disappeared through. She had no idea that Ginny felt this way, and she felt horrible for rubbing it in Ginny's face that she had a boyfriend.

Upstairs, Ginny was writing furiously in her diary.

_January 11_

_I can't believe this. I am ONLY girl in my year, probably in the whole damned SCHOOL, that doesn't have a boyfriend. Everywhere I look I see couples paired off, as if it's the newest trend or something. Worst of all, when I was walking to Defense class this morning, I saw Draco -I mean That One Hot Guy -snogging with some ugly third year girl in the corridor! Right there where everyone could see them!_

_Then Daphne told me that she has a boyfriend. A really hot seventh year Ravenclaw, with personality to boot. She was going on and on and on and ON about him earlier, and I just snapped. I yelled at her, and I'm sure my face was red as a tomato, which is NOT a flattering look on me. Now Daphne's probably mad at me._

_WHY can't I get a boyfriend??? If I was really THAT desperate, I suppose Neville might go out with me but... uh, no. There's really only one guy I want, but he hates me..._

_Ack. Must go. Someone's knocking at the door._

_-Ginny_

"Ginny? Are you okay? Can I come in?" Daphne's voice said through the door to Ginny's room. Techinically the room belonged to Daphne as much as it did to Ginny, but Ginny had locked the door to avoid talking to anyone. Ginny didn't reply to the knock, she was too busy hiding her diary deep in her trunk.

"Ginny, I really don't want to force my way in the room, but if you don't answer, I will," Daphne warned.

"Please go away," Ginny called.

Outside, Hermione had just ascended the stairs. "What's the matter?" she asked Daphne, who was pounding angrily on the door to the sixth year girl's dorm.

"Ginny's a bit ticked off and she won't let me in," Daphne replied.

"What is it? Boys, school, family, or friends?" Hermione asked with a knowing look.

"Boys mainly, but friends, too. At least, I think so. She won't talk to me. Can you help?" Daphne asked hopefully.

Hermione knocked gently on the door. "Ginny, please open the door. Daphne and I only want to talk to you."

"Well I don't want to talk to you," Ginny answered, sounding a little meaner than she had meant to.

Hermione sighed, pulling out her wand. "Sorry, Ginny, but I have to do this. _Alohamora!_" The door sprang open, allowing Hermione and Daphne to enter.

Hermione and Daphne sat on Ginny's bed, one girl on either side of the forlorn redhead. Hermione put her arm around Ginny comfortingly.

"What's the matter, sweetie? You know you can tell Daph and I anything."

"Hermione, how long did you have a crush on Harry before you actually started going out?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, I don't know. I suppose I've always liked him, but it really became evident in our sixth year. I don't know what happened, but when he came back from summer vacation, he suddenly became a whole lot better-looking. Viktor and I had already agreed that we were just friends, and I began to look at Harry in a whole different light. Why do you ask? Do you have a crush on a friend?" Hermione asked coyly.

"No. Well, not exactly. He's not a friend. More like an enemy. But I do like him. I know I shouldn't, he hates me, and he's really a horrible person. But I just feel like if I could just get to know him he wouldn't be so horrible," Ginny explained.

"Do I know this guy?" Daphne asked, although she was pretty sure she already knew who Ginny was talking about.

"Quite well, actually. Well, not so well anymore, but... yes, you know him."

"Ginny, do you have a crush on Draco Malfoy?" Hermione, never one for beating around the bush, asked.

Ginny bit her lip and nodded sadly. "Okay, go ahead, make fun of me. Just don't tell Ron, he'd murder me."

"Oh, no, Ginny, we won't make fun of you. Actually... I have an idea..." Hermione looked off in the distance, formulating a plan in her head. "I have to get something, I'll only be gone a minute."

And she was. When she returned, she was carrying a large and rather old book of spells. Hermione made sure the door was shut firmly behind her and then muttered a spell, pointing her wand at the door.

"I just sealed off the room. No one can get in or hear anything that happens in here. Ginny, I think I have a way for you to get Draco." Hermione put the book on Ginny's bed. The other two girls gasped when they read the title: Madam Cupid's Book of Lurve.

"Lurve? What's lurve?" Daphne inquired, one eyebrow raised in question.

"The cutesy way of spelling 'love.' This is a book of love potions," Hermione explained.

"Hermione! I'm surprised! What would people say if they knew Hogwarts' Head Girl had a book of illegal love potions?" Ginny asked.

"Not anything good, which is why this conversation never leaves this room. Now, most of these spells are amazingly complex, and some of the simpler ones aren't guaranteed to work without some rather unpleasant side effects. But there are a few that I think we could pull off," Hermione said, flicking through the pages of the thick volume.

"Hermione, have you ever used any of these potions? On, for example, a skinny, green-eyed Seeker, perhaps?" Daphne wondered.

"No, of course not. I've never actually tried any of these. My mother gave this book to me as a sort of joke, after Ron broke up with me," Hermione answered.

"Wait, whoa, hold it, stop the presses. YOU WENT OUT WITH RON?!" Ginny screeched, completely taken off guard by this piece of information.

Hermione turned slightly pink. "Oops. I wasn't supposed to say that. Erm, well, Ginny, you see, we went out, very briefly, at the end of fifth year. He broke it off during the summer. He didn't want you to know, because, well, you're his little sister and he doesn't want you to know about his love life."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me! Hermione, how could you keep something like this from me?" Ginny cried, indignant.

"I'm so sorry, Ginny, but I promised Ron," Hermione apologized.

"Come on, stop fighting, it's not important anyway. Come on, Hermione, which potion should we try first?" Daphne asked excitedly.

Hermione pursed her lips, looking at different recipes until she found one of the simpler ones.

"Hmmm... this one may work... it'll take about a week to get all the ingredients... we may have to steal some, others we can get in Hogsmeade... then only an hour or so to make... yes, this one will do."

"Hermione, why are you agreeing to help me, anyway? You hate Draco," Ginny pointed out.

"Well, Ginny, the only reason I really hate Draco is because he's Harry's enemy, and as I'm Harry's friend, that makes Draco my enemy as well. But lately their rivalry has been getting a little too intense, and I'm afraid if they don't call a truce, someday one of them might end up dead, especially if Draco follows his father's footsteps. So maybe, if you and Draco become a little friendlier, things might smooth out between Draco and Harry," Hermione explained.

"One more question... what happens if we get caught?" Daphne asked worriedly.

"We get expelled and I commit suicide."

"Oh. Righty-oh, then, let's get to it."

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A/N: Fairy-Queen770, SamiJo, and Slytherin Rogue: Thank you SO MUCH for reviewing!!! I'm glad there are people reading my story!!


	3. Love Potion Attempt Number One

**Love Potion Number Nine**

**Chapter 3: Love Potion Number One**

Disclaimer: I forgot to do this at first, but just in case someone gets their panties all up in a bunch about it, here's the deal: All characters, setting, events, etc., from the Harry Potter series belong to J.K. Rowling and her associates. All other characters, plots, etc., belong to me. Thank you and have a nice day.

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As Hermione had predicted, the love potion took a little over a week to prepare. Daphne, Hermione, and Ginny pooled their allowance money to buy potion ingredients from various places in Hogsmeade as discreetly as possible. They were very careful not to arouse suspicion. If anyone found out that they were conjuring a love potion, they would most definitely be expelled, and Hermione would murder them. (She always said she was kidding about that, but Daphne and Ginny weren't so sure.)

Finally, one Sunday evening, the three girls were gathered around a toilet in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, with a bubbling cauldron sitting on the toilet, just as Harry, Ron, and Hermione had done in their second year to brew the Polyjuice Potion. As they observed, the potion turned from murky orange to bright, almost neon, pink in a matter of seconds after Hermione added the last few ingredients.

"Just give it another minute for full potency," Hermione whispered. They were silent until Hermione quenched the magical fire beneath the cauldron. The excitement and tension in the air was palpable as all three girls, but especially Ginny, wondered if the potion would work.

"So it's ready?" Ginny said.

"It would certainly seem that way," Hermione replied, consulting the spell book. "Yes, bright pink and rather thick... I think it's ready."

"So what now? Does Draco have to drink it?" Daphne asked.

As always, Ginny examined Daphne's face closely when the name "Draco" was mentioned. The tall blonde never seemed fazed by her complete and total isolation from her family, which absolutely mystified Ginny. Of course, Daphne did tend to change the subject as quickly as possible whenever Harry and/or Ron and/or other Gryffindors were discussing how horrible Draco was. It made Ginny wonder whether Daphne still felt some sort of allegiance to the Malfoy clan, despite the fact that they had excommunicated her from the family and refused to acknowledge her existence.

"No, Ginny has to drink it. But she has to be wearing an article of Draco's clothes... that will be tricky... and the potion is only good for twenty-four hours. We have to hurry," Hermione answered, scooping some potion into a clear glass bottle and corking it tightly. She made the rest of the potion vanish and the three girls filed out of the bathroom.

"I think I know how to get his clothes. He always gives his laundry to the house-elves to do, so all we have to do is ask Dobby to get us a scarf or his socks. Something small that he won't notice is missing," Ginny suggested.

"How do you know what he does with his laundry?" Daphne asked curiously.

Ginny blushed and admitted, "When I said I have a crush on him, what I meant was. . . I'm rather obsessed."

Hermione laughed. "Understandable. I've memorized Harry's schedule every week since we started dating so I can find him after the classes we don't have together."

Daphne and Ginny laughed.

The next afternoon, Ginny had acquired a pair of socks, thanks to Dobby. As Hermione had instructed, she lit 12 candles, four red, four pink, and four white, and placed them in a circle around her. She put Draco's socks on (which weren't gross at all, proving that he was perfect in nearly every way) and held the potion before her.

"Let sparks fly between Draco Malfoy and me, Virginia Weasely," she whispered, as was also required.

Closing her eyes, Ginny wiggled her toes, which were being kept toasty by Draco's rather large socks, and downed the entire bottle of love potion. It tasted like Muggle Valentine candies, the little conversation hearts with messages on them. It burned her throat going down, and once it settled in her stomach she felt quite warm all over. Looking in the mirror, she saw that her cheeks were tinted pink, as if she was blushing innocently.

Ginny looked in the spell book to see how long she had to wait before the potion took effect. "'Once the potion has been consumed, the effects should begin immediately after the object of desire sees the person who has consumed the potion, assuming that everything was done correctly,' " she read to herself.

Ginny knew that Draco tended to eat an early breakfast and then take a walk around the grounds, with his oafish companions, Crabbe and Goyle, panting along with him. She would try to get close to him during his walk the next morning, or preferably, when he was going in to breakfast.

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The next morning, Ginny woke up early and got dressed quietly so as not to awaken any of the other girls, then crept down to the Great Hall to try to catch a glimpse of Draco. Unfortunately, he was just on his way out as she was headed in, and a rather large fifth year Hufflepuff blocked Ginny from his sight.

Ginny ate a quick breakfast so her stalking wouldn't seem so obvious. She only managed a few nibbles of toast before her patience ran out. Rushing out to the grounds, Ginny saw Draco and his two minions walking towards the greenhouses. She hurried to catch up.

Suddenly, a thought stopped her in her tracks. _What am I supposed to do, just jump in front of him and ask if he's in love with me? If it the potion doesn't work, he'll think I belong in St. Mungo's! _She considered going back inside to reformulate her plan, but she worried that the potion might wear off before she had a chance to see him again.

Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle were now headed back towards the castle, and from their path Ginny guessed that they were going back to the Slytherin dungeons. This was her only chance. The young girl quickly jogged towards them and conveniently "tripped" right in front of Draco.

Yes, it was desperate, but it was the only thing Ginny could think of on such short notice. Unbeknownst to her, her robe was pulled up a few inches when she fell, revealing her shoes and socks.

"Merlin's Beard! Ginny!" Draco exclaimed, kneeling down next to Ginny.

"Yes, Draco?" Ginny asked hopefully, batting her eyelashes in what she hoped was an attractive and flirtatious way.

"Ginny... your socks! They are so amazing! Look at them, so perfectly formed and exquisitely stitched! They... why, they're beautiful! Gorgeous! They are most certainly the most stunning socks I've ever seen in my entire life!" Draco gushed, cradling one foot in his hand as if it were a precious artifact.

Ginny's first thoughts were, "He has to be joking." But when Draco leaned down to snog her socks, she knew that Love Potion Attempt Number One had failed. Miserably.

But she recovered from her disappointment quickly enough to redeem herself. "Malfoy, what the hell do you think you're doing? You freak! Keep your tongue away from my socks!"

A large crowd had assembled and was now laughing uproariously. A few students showed Malfoy their socks, taunting him and offering him a chance to kiss their socks.

"I. . . I don't know what came over me. . . I just. . . Weasely, what the hell is this? Some sick joke?" Draco demanded.

"You tell me, Malfoy! First your bodyguard here trips me, and all of a sudden you're trying to mate with my socks! I knew you were weird, but I draw the line at this! You keep your slimy hands and mouth and your nasty tongue away from my clothes!" Ginny yelled, feigning anger.

A few students began to call out in Ginny's support. "You tell him, Ginny!" "Yeah, Malfoy, that's just nasty." "I'd say that's sexual harassment right there." "That weirdo oughta be locked up."

Some Slytherins called out to, erm, defend Malfoy. "Yeah, Malfoy, way to seduce a Weasel!" "Way to go, Malfoy!" "What, you've had your way with all the decent girls, now you're settling for anyone with good socks?"

Draco, blushing like someone who has just suffered the most mortifying moment of his life, slunk away amongst the snickering and teasing, with Crabbe and Goyle trailing behind him, who were still trying to figure out what was going on.

Meanwhile, Ginny was trying to make her escape, but her peers were hampering her progress. Every few feet, someone would stop her to try to analyze what had happened, crack a joke about Malfoy, or, in the case of the Slytherins, insult her. She smiled and nodded politely, but as soon as she could she bolted to the Great Hall to find Daphne and Hermione.

Luckily for her, they were both sitting at the Gryffindor table enjoying breakfast. Hermione was giggling about something with Harry, while Daphne was flirting with Rex, who was sitting next to her even though he was a Ravenclaw and wasn't supposed to be at that table.

As soon as the two girls saw Ginny's furious face, they quickly excused themselves and followed her outside to a secluded hallway.

"I have never been more embarrassed in my whole entire life! I will never live this down! Until the day I die, I will be known as the girl whose socks were snogged by Draco Malfoy! This will be all over school in about five minutes! Do you know how embarrassing it was? First of all, I purposely tripped right in front of Malfoy, hoping that, I dunno, he would help me up and look deep into my eyes and brush my hair out of my face and fall madly in love with me and kiss me and it would be perfect. Something like that. But no. Instead, he fell in love with my socks!" Ginny ranted, all in one breath and so quickly that Daphne had trouble deciphering the words. Hermione caught the gist of it, though.

"What? Malfoy fell in love with your socks?" Hermione cried. "Oh, damn. The potion must have backfired. Well, we are in quite the quagmire now. I think there's a counter spell, I'll have to check."

"Don't feel so bad about it, Ginny, there's always next time," Daphne said comfortingly.

"Next time? NEXT TIME?" Ginny screeched. "You think after this I'm going to let you two interfere in my love life ever again? Hah!"

"Now, now, Ginny, let's just calm down, okay? Just breathe deep, your face is turning purple. Let's think about this logically. This was only our first attempt at a love potion. Okay, we made a mistake, so what? What great wizard hasn't gone through a few trial-and-errors before making it right?" Hermione pointed out.

"We just have to keep trying until it works," Daphne added.

Ginny sighed huffily. "Well, so long as the next one doesn't make Malfoy or me look like such buffoons."

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A/N: Siobhan- Thank you so much for reviewing!

I hope you liked this chapter. Perhaps I should mention that I am American, so if my British slang is a little off, please forgive me and feel free to correct me.


	4. Ginny's Thoughts

**Love Potion Number Nine**

**Chapter Three: Ginny's Thoughts**

Disclaimer: All characters from the Harry Potter Series are owned by J.K. Rowling, all other characters belong to me. All quotes from Romeo and Juliet belong to Shakespeare and any insinuations about Shakespeare are purely speculation and not meant to be taken seriously.

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_January 30_

_Dear Diary,_

_Okay, it's official. You are my witness. I have sworn off boys. And brothers. And ESPECIALLY love potions!!!_

_FOR GOOD!_

_So far, Daphne, Hermione, and I have concocted seven different love potions. None of them worked. All of them had some pretty... I suppose you could say "strange," although that's an understatement... side effects. Let me give you the rundown:_

_Love Potion Number One: Draco fell in love with my socks. Luckily, Hermione found a counter spell and managed to wipe his memory of that incident, as well of the memories of most of the students that were there._

_Love Potion Number Two: As soon as Draco saw me (he sneered in my direction after finishing a snogging session with another ugly sixth year), you could see hearts in his eyes. Literally. Little pink, beating hearts, right there in his eye sockets. He started screaming and yelling and running about like a dying chicken or something. Someone took him up to the hospital wing, and Madam Pomfrey fixed him in a matter of minutes, but he's still grumbling about lawsuits or something._

_So then Madam Pomfrey became suspicious, and she called this big meeting to tell all the students about the dangers of love potions. I didn't want to try any more potions, but Hermione and Daphne insisted. So, on to..._

_Love Potion Number Three: The book said to use the potion as ink and write a love letter to the person you wanted to fall in love with you, but you didn't have to give the letter to the person or anything. So I wrote Draco a letter and sealed it with a kiss and kept it under my pillow. The next day, the Slytherins had Double Potions with the Gryffindors. Harry and Ron, along with all the other seventh year Gryffindors besides Hermione, came to lunch almost collapsing on each other, laughing fit to keel over._

_It turns out, while they were taking notes during Potions, Draco fell in love with his quill. He actually got down on one knee and proposed to it. Needless to say, I was mortified. Again, I insisted that we stop meddling in love potions before we got caught. Again, my motion was denied._

_Love Potion Number Four: Draco seemed to be in love with EVERYONE. He started handing out long-stemmed roses to everyone he saw. Including Harry._

_And (swoon!) me, but that's beside the point._

_Some big, ugly Slytherin guy gave him a good bop on the head and he snapped out of it, but no one's let up about it yet._

_Love Potion Number Five: This potion was developed by William Shakespeare and totally screwed up by Hermione, Daphne, and Ginny. He wrote a lot of plays for Muggles, but he was famous in the wizarding world for his love potions._

_Anyway, after I tricked Draco into drinking it (we pretended it was part of a care package from his mother, which he receives daily anyway), he started quoting Romeo and Juliet to any girl he laid eyes on. The funny part was, he was saying all of Juliet's lines from the balcony scene, supposedly Shakespeare's most romantic (and sappiest) writing ever._

_He actually came right up to me, got down on one knee, took my hand, looked me STRAIGHT in the eye, and said, "Thou knowest the mask of night is on my face; else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheeks." I have no idea what that means, but it still made me swoon. Then he turned to Hermione and said, "Oh Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?"_

_Anyway, the effects of that potion only lasted four hours. Moving along..._

_Love Potion Number Six: When he saw me, his heart started beating wildly. Literally. We could see his heart beating in his chest. It would stretch out about a foot in front of him every time. He thought he was having a heart attack._

_This time, Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore had a meeting with all the students about Love Potions. They said if the people doing this were caught, they would be expelled indefinitely and might have to face the Ministry of Magic. I thought for sure this would deter Hermione, but when the next time I saw her, she pulled Daphne and I into the bathroom to show us another potion she had already concocted. I just don't know what's gotten into her lately! I think hanging around Harry and Ron so much has addled Hermione's brain._

_Love Potion Number Seven: This was the worst of all. It took us a few days to complete this potion, and the end result was a light, powdery, glittery substance that we were supposed to sprinkle on Draco, and then on me. But when Hermione was sprinkling Draco, a little bit got on Crabbe._

_Draco Malfoy fell in love with Vincente Crabbe._

_ICK!!!!!!!!!_

_Fortunately, for everyone's sake, there was a counter potion. They were only in love for about a day, and there was no snogging involved. Seems Crabbe is a girl with morals._

_But that's not the end of it._

_See, Ron noticed that I had been acting quite down-in-the-dumps lately, since all that Draco's suffered is entirely my fault. But Ron didn't know that. He talked to Hermione, and apparently she hinted that I was feeling down because I didn't have a boyfriend but most of my friends did._

_So Ron had Neville ask me out._

_NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM ASKED ME OUT!!!!!!!!!_

_I don't want to be mean, but...... it's NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM!!!!!!! Argh!!!!! Yes, he's very nice, but he's just so...... Neville!!!! I only went to the Yule Ball with him in my third year so that I could go, seeing as the younger students weren't allowed. We had a pretty good time, but he was so nervous and shy. I carried the entire conversation (what little there was), and the one time we attempted to dance... well, let's just say my toes still haven't forgiven me._

_I very politely explained to Neville that I look at him as more of an older brother than a romantic interest. I think he was relieved, actually. Neville said he thought of me as a sister, too, so I asked him why he asked me out in the first place. Turns out, Ron threatened him with the Full-Body Bind._

_So I hunted Ron down and lit into him. I caused quite a scene in the common room, and now people are calling me Howler. How lovely. So of course I blamed Ron for that, as well, and now I'm not on speaking terms with him._

_Or Hermione either, as this was all her fault. I've begrudgingly agreed to talk to Daphne, but only when I must._

_I really must look into finding some new friends. I've heard Durmstrang is a delightful school, maybe I'll convince Mum and Dad to transfer me there._

_-Ginny_

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A/N: Thank you to all of my reviewers!


	5. Draco's Thoughts

**Love Potion Number Nine**

**Chapter Five: Draco's Thoughts**

-------------

Draco Malfoy hurried down to the dungeons and into the Slytherin dorms. To his relief, there was no one else in the common room. He dropped his school bag on the floor and sank down into an armchair.

Staring into the dancing flames, Draco Malfoy asked himself, for the three millionth time, "What the HELL is going on with me?!"

First, there was that whole socks episode. He couldn't remember anything about it, but a few other students knew and constantly made fun of him for being a Sock Snogger. Then, the eyes thing, followed by the quill incident, and that weird "I Love the World" feeling. Not to mention the Shakespeare quotes, the heart attack, and finally, the grand finale... Crabbe.

Draco Malfoy shuddered violently from the memory. Thank goodness Crabbe was a proper lady and didn't believe in kissing on the first date. But there had been a lot of handholding, and Draco Malfoy had seriously considered burning that hand.

Something very odd was going on. Someone seemed determined to humiliate Draco Malfoy as much as possible in as short a time span as possible. Draco just couldn't figure it out. Who would want to –or dare to– do that to a Malfoy?

The first name that came to mind was, of course, Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy's arch nemesis. But Potter wasn't smart enough to think of all these complex hexes and get away with it, too. There was the possibility of Potter's girlfriend, Granger, the Mudblood. She was the smartest girl in their year, after all.

Speaking (or rather, thinking) of which, Draco Malfoy suddenly remembered that there was a Potions essay due the next day he had yet to finish. He couldn't maintain his place as smartest boy of the year if he started falling behind in homework. So he gathered his things and headed to the library.

Once he reached his destination, he found Hermione and Daphne in a secluded corner, poring over the contents of a large, old spell book. Curious, he hid behind a nearby bookshelf and listened in.

". . . know what Ginny said," Daphne was saying. "No more love potions. She was really serious this time, 'Mione."

"Oh, come on, don't chicken out now. One more little potion won't hurt. Now, how about this one. . . oh, no, we got this same one from my book. This was the heart-eyes potion." Hermione flipped through a few more pages. "Oh, here's a good one. Very few possible side effects. . . well, that exploding heart one sounds a bit nasty, but it says it's very rare..."

Draco listened as Hermione and Daphne went over the specifics of the potion with increasing unease. So it was them who were behind all the strange goings-on in Draco's life. . . but why?

"Oh, I'm supposed to meet Harry by the lake in five minutes. Gotta run. Meet me in Myrtle's bathroom after dinner, and bring those ingredients," Hermione instructed.

"All right. I'll go put this back," Daphne said, picking up the spell book as Hermione left.

Daphne walked right past Draco without even noticing him, her mind obviously distracted by other things like love potions. He fell into step behind her his footsteps making no noise on the carpeted floor, then reached out to grab her shoulders suddenly. She let out a small scream.

"Draco! Oh, you jerk!" she hissed, pretending to hit him with the heavy book.

Draco laughed quietly. "Sorry, I couldn't resist."

"What are you doing here, anyway?" she asked, continuing down the aisle until she found the shelf where the book belonged.

"I could ask you the same question, only I know the answer to that already. You were conspiring with Granger to make a love potion that will further disgrace me in front of my peers," Draco said sarcastically.

Daphne blushed. "Oh. You were listening, then?"

"No, that was just a random guess off the top of my head," he retorted, putting his arm around his younger sister. "Daphne, Daphne, Daphne. . . I'm rather disappointed in you. Is this the best you could come up with? You're going to ruin the Malfoy reputation."

"And that disappoints you?" Daphne snorted. "I thought you wanted nothing more than to spit on the Malfoy name."

"Yes, but we can't let information like that get around, now can we?" Draco grinned. "Now anyway... what's the deal, Daph? Why are you trying to put love spells on me? I never knew you were into incest..." Draco teased

Daphne hit him playfully, pretending to gag. "Shut up, Draco. It's not for me. It's for..." she cut herself off just in time.

"Who? Granger? I thought she was with Potter."

"I wish you wouldn't call her Granger around me. It's rather degrading. It would be like me calling Crabbe and Goyle... oh wait, bad example. Anyway, it's not for Hermione, either. It's for a. . . a friend. A mutual friend. This friend really likes you, and, well, Hermione and I were just trying to help. I'm really sorry about all the side effects, Draco," Daphne apologized.

"Well, I suppose I can live with them. Just no more potions, okay? Promise me," Draco said.

"Yes, yes, of course. I'll try to sabotage Hermione's next potion tonight," Daphne promised.

"Good. Now come on, Daph, just tell me. Which of your little friends has a crush on me?" Draco Malfoy asked, grinning egotistically.

"Wipe that grin off your face, Draco, she's not the type of girl that's interested in some cheap fling with The Draco Malfoy. She's not into the bad boy thing. She's convinced that under your tough shell, you're a good person," Daphne answered.

"Gee, I wonder where she got that idea..." Draco looked hard at Daphne.

"I didn't tell her, I swear!" Daphne protested. "She just. . . sensed it, I guess. Maybe you're not so good at the bad boy thing after all."

"Blasphemy!" Draco gasped jokingly. "Come on, who is it?"

"Not gonna tell you."

"Is it Zoë Blaine?"

"Not gonna tell you."

"Amanda Bottorff?"

"Not gonna tell you."

"Lavender Brown?"

"Not gonna tell you."

"Parvati Patil?"

"No, not Parvati. She's a sixth year, I'll give you that."

"Let's see, let's see. . . what sixth years haven't I scored already?" Draco Malfoy wondered.

"Watch it, Malfoy."

"Okay, okay, only joking. Dede Maxis?"

"Not gonna tell you."

Draco had a thought, a hopeful flutter in his stomach and opened his mouth to say a name, then quickly dismissed it and said instead, "Rebecca Moore?"

"Not gonna tell you."

"Ginny Weasely?" This time, it popped out before he could stop it.

Daphne hesitated for a mere second, surprised that he had mentioned the name. "N... not gonna tell you."

Draco heard the "yes" in Daphne's hesitation. "It is her, isn't it? Ginny has a crush on me!"

"I didn't say that! Draco, stop it, I never said that! What in the hell are you doing, anyway?" Daphne demanded as Draco began to shake his hips and spin in circles.

Draco paused his victory dance only to explain, "I'm celebrating," before continuing his happy dance.

"Celebrating? You're happy that it's Ginny?" Daphne asked confusedly. Draco always acted so harshly towards the Weasely family, she had expected him to be angry about it.

"Couldn't be happier! Ginny Weasely likes me! Ginny Weasely likes me! Ginny Weasely has a crush on me! Ginny Weasely has a. . . you're sure she likes me? Daphne Malfoy, if you're just jerking my chain, I'll. . ."

"I would never, and don't call me a Malfoy. Ginny told Hermione and I that she has a crush on you. Draco, don't you _dare_ make fun of her! I'll kill you! And then she'll kill me for telling you and I'll meet you in Hell and kill you all over again! Draco, look at me! Promise me you won't make fun of her!" Daphne insisted, grabbing Draco by the shoulders and looking him straight in the eye.

"I would never, Daphne, I swear! I've been waiting for this moment since fourth year! Ginny Weasely likes me! Ginny Weasely likes me!" Draco continued his happy dance, leaving Daphne utterly bewildered.

"Draco, I thought you hated the Weaselys."

"Draco _Malfoy_ hates the Weaselys, but as you are well aware, Draco Malfoy is simply a façade I put up in order to inherit the Malfoy fortune. If I acted like I act with you around other people, my reputation would be ruined. Father would hear about it and disown me, as he disowned you. If he disowned me, he would give the fortune to his vile nephew, and then where would you and I be? Nowhere pleasant, I assure you," Draco explained.

"Draco, I've always wondered. . . what on _earth_ are you planning to do with all that money?" Daphne asked.

"Split it with you, of course. Then I'll take one quarter of mine and give it to St. Mungo's, since Lord only knows how much damage Father did to the people in there. Another quarter of it will go to some organization that's against the Dark Lord. Maybe Potter's Army or whatever it is he started. Anonymously, of course, as my reputation will still be very fragile. Then I'll use the rest to support myself. I've been thinking about entering the Ministry and attempting to reform it for the better, but maybe medicine would be a more worthwhile professions. Either way, I'll need a good bit of money," Draco responded. He had obviously thought about this a lot.

Daphne stared at him, thunderstruck. "I had no idea you were that generous, Draco. You really are quite good at the bad boy act. So you have a crush on Ginny?"

"Crush would be an understatement. I want to buy her the world and deliver the moon on a silver platter. I would kiss her brother's feet if she so desired. I would take on the Dark Lord himself if only I knew she was waiting for me at the battle's end. I want to count the number of hairs on her head and learn every detail of her past. I want to know when and where she took her first step and said her fist word and..."

"All right, all right, I get it! You're in love! Well, Draco, that's wonderful! When are you going to tell Ginny?" Daphne asked excitedly.

"Tell Ginny? I can't tell Ginny! Are you mad?" Draco hissed.

"What? Why not?" Daphne asked.

"Do you know what Father would do if he found out I was dating a Weasely? He'd decapitate me! He'd cut me out of the will so fast your head would spin!" Draco protested.

"Oh. . . yes. . . that's true. . . well, that just sucks royally, doesn't it?"

"Tell me about it." Draco sank down onto the floor, sighing heavily. He leaned back against a bookcase, putting his head in his hands. "How about we knock off the parentals? Make it seem like the Dark Lord did it in a fit of rage. I know how to conjure the Dark Mark."

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure Ginny would love to date a murderer," Daphne said sarcastically.

"She'd never know," Draco said slyly. Daphne smacked him in the head. "Okay, okay, it was just a suggestion! Let's hear your bright ideas, then."

"Screw Mum and Pops. Who really needs money, anyway? You're the smartest wizard in your year, it's not as though you'll be lacking in credentials when you start looking for a job," Daphne said.

Draco chewed on his lower lip, deep in thought. After a minute, he said, "Yes. . . yes, I suppose you're right. I wouldn't want their money anyway, it'd be tainted with their greed and evil. . . wonderful, Daphne, you're brilliant! Must be off now, see you later. Remember to destroy Hermione's evil plans to create yet another love potion tonight."

With that, Draco sprinted out of the library.

Daphne shook her head, smiling, as she watched his retreating back. She just couldn't wait for all of this to be over.

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Thank you SO MUCH to all my reviewers! I lurve you all! : - )


	6. Love Potions Eight and Nine

Love Potion Number Nine

Chapter 6: Love Potions Eight and Nine

A/N: Many, many thanks to Kaneko for the ferret idea!!! You rock!!!

Disclaimer: You know the deal. Rowling owns all the Harry Potter stuff, I own the other stuff. Got it? Good. Moving on.

Warning: Extreme fluffiness ahead.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

After dinner, Hermione and Daphne carefully eluded Ginny and made it into Myrtle's bathroom without mishap. They finished Love Potion Attempt Number Eight fairly quickly, but right at the end, Hermione realized she had left the bottle in her room. She rushed off to get it (apparently forgetting that she was a highly intelligent witch who could have easily summoned it), leaving Daphne alone with the potion.

Daphne took a plastic bag out of her pocket. In the bag was some white powder, which she carefully poured into the potion and stirred it in.

No, it wasn't drugs, so don't freak out. What Daphne added to the potion was simple, everyday table salt, a known catalyst for disaster in magical potions. A tablespoon of salt in an ocean of potion would make the potion as harmless as tap water. Daphne, for once, was glad she had been paying attention in Potions.

But what Daphne had neglected to remember was this: salt has a different effect on love potions. Instead of making them undisruptive, they simply change the effects of the potion.

So when Hermione had Dobby agree to slip some into Draco's pumpkin juice at dinner, Daphne (and Draco) thought he was perfectly safe. Hermione expected Draco to fall in love with Ginny on sight. Ginny, of course, expected nothing.

Nothing happened at dinner. Draco neither felt nor noticed anything. It wasn't until the next day, when the seventh year Slytherins had Transfiguration with the Gryffindors, that he (and the rest of the class) noticed anything.

Professor McGonagall told the class they would be learning how to transfigure ferrets into rolling pins. Of course, the Gryffindors snickered at this, remembering the time Mad-Eye Moody (or rather, Barty Crouch, Jr.) turned Malfoy into a ferret and bounced him around.

Draco ignored the laughing and started to discuss Quidditch tactics with one of the Beaters on the Slytherin team. McGonagall passed out the live, wriggling ferrets.

She set a black one down on Draco's desk. He glanced away from the Beater for a mere second, then did a double take. To Draco, the ferret was absolutely gorgeous. Slowly, tenderly, he lifted the ferret and kissed it gently.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Draco was in love with his ferret.

Oh, the bitter irony.

"Mr. Malfoy, please unhand that ferret!" Professor McGonagall cried. The entire class was cracking up.

"Oh, ferret, beautiful ferret, please just tell me your name. Forgive me for my forwardness, but please mother my children!" Draco was murmuring to the ferret.

"Draco, what the bloody hell are you doing?" Another Slytherin asked, whacking Draco in the head.

"Can't you see that I'm busy? Geez, can't a guy get a little privacy in here?!" Draco demanded, clutching the ferret to his chest.

"Mr. Malfoy, that is enough! Give the ferret to me!" Professor McGonagall demanded.

"You'll never separate us! We were meant to be!" Draco cried dramatically.

"_Accio ferret!"_ McGonagall shouted. The ferret zoomed out of Draco's grip and into hers.

Draco's lip trembled. His eyes filled with tears. "How… how _could_ you?! I love her!"

"It's a him," McGonagall corrected him.

Draco ran from the room, sobbing uncontrollably.

There was silence in the room for a few seconds. Every eye in the room was watching the doorway where Draco has disappeared through. Then, there erupted such an explosion of laughter that was unprecedented in Hogwarts history.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

When Ginny heard the news about Draco and his ferrety love, she was livid. She sat quietly at the Gryffindor table, seething with anger, waiting until Hermione and Daphne stood to leave. They tried to rush out of the Great Hall as quickly as possible, but Ginny was faster.

"Come with me," she hissed, leading them down the corridor to an empty broom closet. She made the closet soundproof, then erupted, "How _could_ you?! You promised me there would be no more love potions! But no, you just couldn't stop meddling in my love life, could you? Do you _enjoy_ seeing me this angry? Do you _like_ seeing Draco suffer? Well, yes, I'm sure you do, since he hates you and you hate him, but don't you even _care_ about how much it hurts _me?_"

"Ginny, of course we care! We're so sorry, we never thought this one would go askew…" Hermione began to apologize.

"Oh, this is all my fault! I tried to ruin the potion, but I guess it didn't work!" Daphne sobbed.

"What? Why?" Ginny asked, taken aback.

"How? When?" Hermione demanded.

"I put salt in it. During Potions today, Snape told us that salt doesn't react to love potions the same way it does with other potions, but I didn't know that when I put the salt in! Oh, Ginny, I'm so sorry. We never meant to hurt Draco or you!" Daphne said, sniffling.

"Why would you try to ruin the potion? It would have worked perfectly if you hadn't meddled in it!" Hermione said angrily.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Daphne ran from the closet in tears.

Ginny glared at Hermione for a second before leaving in a huff. Hermione sighed and followed them both.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

_Dear Diary, _

_Hermione and Daphne are the worst friends in the world! I can't believe they did this to Draco! They promised me that they wouldn't try any more love potions. And what do they do as soon as my back is turned? Conjure up another stupid potion! _

_This time, Draco fell in love with the ferret he was supposed to be transfiguring in McGonagall's class today. The Gryffindors were there, too, so I bet he'll be made fun of for the rest of his life. AND IT'S ALL MY FAULT!!!!!!!! If I hadn't agreed to go along with the first potion, we never would have gotten to the eighth. _

_Hermione and Daphne should pay for this. But how? _

Ginny set down her pen for a few minutes, deep in thought. Suddenly, a thought struck her, and, grinning, she scribbled down her plan into her diary.

_I've got it!!!!!!!!! I'll create my own love potion (I've certainly learned from the mistakes we made in the past) and make Hermione and Daphne fall in love with Crabbe and Goyle! It's brilliant! But poor Harry and Rex, they'll be so disappointed. . . oh, screw them, who cares? _

_Adieu, _

_-Ginny _

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Draco paced around his room, trying to decide what the best way to confess his love to Ginny would be. Should he send her a letter? No, too cowardly. He had to tell her to her face, otherwise she may not believe him. But when, and where? At mealtime? No, no, absolutely not, way too many people around. Too bad she wasn't a seventh year. They had no classes together. . .

After about an hour locked away in his room, Draco finally decided to just wait outside the Gryffindor common room (hidden beneath his recently purchased Invisibility Cloak, of course) until she came out, then pour out his feelings.

So Draco did just that. He seated himself on the ground, leaning against the wall, and kept himself entertained by thinking of possible scenarios that would arise once he laid his heart out there.

Unbeknownst to him, Ginny wasn't in the Gryffindor dorms. She was in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, conjuring a love potion for Hermione and Daphne.

After five hours, Draco finally decided to give up. He rose stiffly and started walking down the corridor. About halfway along, he suddenly bumped into something.

The "something" emitted a small sound that was strangely familiar. Draco found and reached out with both arms, feeling about for whatever he had bumped into. Finally he felt something and grabbed hold tight.

"Who's there? What are you doing?" he whispered.

"Malfoy?!" the "something" burst out, surprised.

"Yes, who are you?" Draco asked, pulling he/she/it closer.

"Draco, let go of me. It's Ginny Weasely. What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Ginny asked, pulling the Cloak she had "borrowed" from Harry away from her head. Draco did the same and they looked at each other incredulously.

"I, uh… well, actually, I was looking for you. I've been waiting for you to come out of your common room for a few hours," Draco explained.

"What do you want me for?" Ginny asked, her stomach beginning to churn with both nerves and excitement. Perhaps he found out that she was behind all the love potions, but he didn't look angry at all. In fact, the arrogant smirk he normally wore around any Gryffindor was suspiciously absent. He looked a little nervous and a little hopeful.

"Come with me," he said, funding her invisible hand. They both covered themselves with the Cloaks and Draco led Ginny to an empty classroom. He shut the door behind them and took off his Cloak completely, as did she. Draco had her sit on one of the desks and kneeled before her.

Clearing his throat nervously, he said, "Ginny, I know I've treated you and your family like crap for the last few years, and for that I am truly, truly sorry. I know 'sorry' is very inadequate, but I don't know how else to make it up to you. Please let me explain."

Ginny nodded, intrigued. Draco looked straight into her eyes, and she felt a shiver run up her spine.

"After the Dark Lord regained power, I began to see how truly evil my parents are, especially my father. I lost all interest in being a Malfoy. I apologized to Daphne and we've become good friends. But I couldn't completely renounce my Malfoy name. My father would kill me, and I prefer living over dying. I had to keep up appearances, you know. That's why I continued being so horrible to Pot… Harry, I mean, and Hermione, and you, and your family.

"I know it was a really rotten choice, but my pride wouldn't let me do a complete 180 from being a Malfoy to being nice to, excuse me, Mudbloods. Also, I wanted to remain a Malfoy at least until my parents died and left me their money. That way, I could provide for Daphne and try to make up for the damage my father has done by donating to charities. But recently, Daphne and I had a talk. I told her that I was in love with. . . _someone_. . . but I couldn't tell her because Father would disown me. She convinced me to stand up for myself and take a chance, for once.

"So, what I'm trying to say is. . . I love you, Ginny Weasely."

Ginny was in shock. There was such sincerity in his voice, such genuineness in his eyes, that she knew he was telling the absolute truth. By the warmth and love she felt from him, she knew he wasn't under the influence of some love potion.

"Draco, I. . . I don't know what to say. . ." she whispered, blinking back tears of joy. Without thinking, she ran a hand through his platinum blonde locks, something she'd longed to do for ages.

"Then don't say anything. Just let me kiss you," he whispered. She nodded, and before she could register a conscious thought, his lips were on hers. His kiss was gentle and loving, his touch on her shoulders and back was soft and tender.

When it was over, Ginny kept her eyes closed for a second or two more, savoring the taste of Draco. When she opened her eyes, she found herself looking straight into Draco's stormy gray eyes. Softly, he wiped away the single tear running down her cheek.

"I love you, too," she said. He grinned and kissed her again, this time more passionately.

"I don't care if my father disembowels me, I can die happy now that I've kissed you," he said, sitting next to her on the desk. She leaned her head on his chest, sighing happily.

"If I were you, I'd start practicing some good hexes, because once your father is done with you, you'll have my brothers to deal with," she advised. He chuckled, and she felt the reverberations in his chest.

"My father I can deal with. Your brothers, one at a time, no problem. But all at once? Then we'd have a problem," he admitted.

"Don't worry, I think I can manage to hold them off of you long enough to explain. But in all seriousness, how do you think your father will react when he finds out that you're dating a Weasely?" Ginny asked worriedly.

"He'll be extremely pissed. Extremely, extremely pissed," Draco said grimly. "I wouldn't fancy being alone with him. He can do the Cruciatious curse in his sleep, and he wouldn't hesitate before doing it on me," Draco replied.

"Do we have any hope of keeping it a secret from him?" Ginny asked.

"Not really. He has his ways, he can find out anything about me from any number of people at Hogwarts."

The two young lovers sighed in unison, sitting quietly with one another, unsure of how long this calm would last.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

It turns out, it didn't last very long at all. Two days later, Lucius Malfoy showed up at Hogwarts, demanding to see his son. Dumbledore had no control over the irate man, who stormed through the castle until he came upon his son, who was arguing with Ron Weasely in an empty corridor.

"You stay the hell away from my sister, Malfoy!" Ron was shouting.

"I don't care what you say about us, Ginny and I are in love and we won't let you tear us apart!" Draco yelled back.

"Fine then, let's duel!" Ron whipped out his wand, pointing it straight at Malfoy's chest.

"I don't want to hurt you, Ron, but if you force me to, I will," Draco said in a low, dangerous voice. Slowly, he raised his own wand, pointing it right back at Ron while looking straight into the other boy's eyes.

"I'll do anything to keep you away from Ginny," Ron answered. Both boys shouted spells at the same time. Draco dodged Ron's, but his hit Ron squarely in his chest. It was just a simple Full-Body Bind, but it was enough. Ron fell to the floor, stiff as a board.

"Impressive, Draco. Nice dodge. I'd like to see you try to dodge this!" Lucius said, coming into view from around the corner with his wand pointed directly at Draco. Draco took a step backwards, keeping his wand up.

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked.

"Is it true? You're dating that Weasely girl?" Lucius asked, lips curling in a snarl.

"Not dating. I'm in love with Ginny, and you'll just have to accept that," Draco answered through clenched teeth.

"Boy, have you gone mad?" Lucius growled. "Do you not realize who I am? Do you not realize how many people I've killed? Do you really think I would spare you, simply because you claim to be in love? You're an idiot, Draco, and the world would be a better place without you."

"Well, you're an ugly idiot, that's double reason for me to kill you," Draco sneered.

"How _dare_ you, boy?" Lucius was so shocked he lowered his wand, and Draco quickly conjured ropes that tied themselves around Lucius in a blink of the eye. Draco quickly gathered his father's wand and Ron's wand before performing the counter spell for Ron.

"You really do love my sister, don't you?" Ron asked, accepting Draco's hand that helped him stand.

"Absolutely," Draco answered.

"I'm sorry about the yelling. I'm such a git sometimes, just ignore me," Ron apologized. He and Draco shook hands good-naturedly.

"Not a problem, Ron. I certainly deserve to get yelled at, after all I've done these past few years. Terribly sorry about everything, mate," Draco replied.

"Let's just forget about it. As long as you swear to never hurt Ginny, I say, let the past be past," Ron suggested.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that." Draco handed Ron his wand, then looked at his father. "Care to help me out here?"

"Where should we take him?" Ron asked.

"Good question. Suppose we should ask Dumbledore?"

"He would know what to do," Ron agreed. The two boys floated Lucius down the hall. Just when they were passing Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Gunny emerged carrying two potions. She wasn't looking where she was going and ran right into Lucius, spilling one of the bottles all over him.

"Oh, no!" she gasped, horrified.

"It's all right, Ginny, don't worry about it," Draco assured her. "Water won't hurt him."

"No, you don't understand! That was a. . . a love potion!" Ginny cried.

"What? Why do you need a love potion?" Draco asked.

"For revenge. I was. . . well, to tell you the truth, I was going to make Hermione and Daphne fall in love with Crabbe and Goyle," Ginny admitted. "But then. . ."

Ron started cracking up. "Good one, Ginny. That's funny. Make them fall in love with Crabbe and Goyle. . . right, sure, I'll believe it when I see it. You're funny, Ginny!"

"I get in trouble when I lie, I get in trouble when I tell the truth. . . there's no pleasing these people!" Ginny huffed.

"I believe you, Ginny," Draco offered. She smiled at him.

"Thanks. Anyway, Ron didn't let me finish. I was _going _to give Hermione and Daph the potions, but then I decided against it. I was going to make it disappear, but I left my wand in my schoolbag, and my schoolbag in the common room. I wonder what the potion will do to your father. . ."

"Hopefully something horrible. We were just taking him to see Dumbledore. We don't know what else to do with him. Want to come along?" Draco said.

"I'd love to. But what about these?" Ginny asked, holding up the bottles.

"Just toss them, I'd say. No point wasting good magic on them, I'm sure they're harmless," Draco replied, jerking his head in the direction of the closest trashcan.

Ginny threw the bottles away, then took Malfoy's non-wand arm and the three of them continued floating Lucius down the hallway. When they rounded the next corner, they found themselves face-to-face with Professor McGonagall.

"What is going on here?" asked, trying to make sense of the scene before her. Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasely arm-in-arm, Lucius Malfoy tied up, and Ron Weasely and Draco keeping Lucius afloat with their wands. . . she was confused, to say the least.

"Good afternoon, Professor. I know this looks strange, but allow me to explain. Mr. Malfoy came here to try to kill Draco, after he found out that Draco and I were going out. Ron thought Mr. Malfoy was going to attack me, so he conjured up these ropes and tied him up. We weren't sure what to do with him, so we were headed to go see Dumbledore. Is he in his office at the moment?" Ginny asked, thinking quickly. Her logic was that McGonagall would be more likely to believe a story about a Gryffindor valiantly rescuing his younger sister than the truth about a Slytherin attacking his own father.

"No. . . no, I'm sorry, you just missed him. I'm terribly sorry. He was called off on urgent business," McGonagall answered.

Just then, Professor Snape came running onto the scene. (Well, not exactly running, but as close to it as Snape could come. More of a slither, really.) "Draco, thank goodness I've found you, Dumbledore told me you might be in a spot of trouble. Are you. . . what are you doing with the Weasely girl?"

"Severus, I'm surprised at you. You know her name is Ginny, don't call her 'the Weasely girl,' " McGonagall chided.

"It's all right, Professor, I suppose it's a bit of a shock to everyone that Ginny and I are in love. After all, we've been enemies for the greater part of our relationship," Draco commented. He and Ginny shared loving smiles.

"Well, let's let your father up, Draco. Let him tell his side of the story," Snape said. Draco flicked his wand and at once the bonds fell away. Lucius fell to the floor with a crash. He picked himself up, calmly brushed away some dust, and then lunged himself at Draco, grabbing him by the throat and giving him a good throttle.

He was screaming something incoherently, but Ron caught a few words. ". . . dare you. . . I'll kill. . . wait till your mother hears. . . divorced her, nevermind. . . my mistress will be upset with you. . . send you to work as a house-elf. . ."

During this, Ginny, McGonagall, Snape, and Ron were all trying to pull Lucius off Draco. Ginny was the first to have sense enough to grab Draco's wand from his pocket and shout, "_Stupefy!"_

Lucius fell to the ground. Draco sat up, rubbing his neck. He smiled gratefully at Ginny. "Thanks, Ginny."

"Hey, anytime," she answered, giving a weak laugh.

"Mr. Malfoy, are you all right? Should I call Madam Pomfrey?" McGonagall asked worriedly.

"No, no, I'm fine, really," Draco assured her. "But he's waking up, someone grab a hold of him."

Indeed, Lucius was already beginning to stir. Snape conjured ropes and bound his hands and feet.

"It would have been a much stronger spell if you were using your own wand," Draco said to Ginny, who handed him his wand. "You're pretty good at Stunning people."

"Thanks. Harry taught me. What was that he said about your mother, Draco? I only caught bits and pieces," Ginny asked curiously.

Draco frowned. "I'm not sure. I wasn't really listening to what he was saying."

"I said that she would be furious with you, but then I remembered that we're divorced. She was frolicking with the pool boy. But let me tell you right now, my new girlfriend has incredible maternal instincts. She'll beat you within an inch of your life when she finds out what you did to me," Lucius threatened.

Suddenly, Crabbe and Goyle walked onto the scene. Lucius was glaring at Draco, whose back was to his oafish companions. But as soon as Lucius saw Crabbe, his threatening glare melted into what can only be described as love.

"Who is that glorious creature? And where has he been all my life?" Lucius whispered in what he thought was his quietest voice. In actuality everyone present could hear every word he said.

Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other, then back at Lucius. "Who, me?" they asked in unison.

Somehow, Lucius managed to get to his feet and hop over to Crabbe. "Has anyone told you how beautiful you are?"

Crabbe looked into Lucius' eyes and fell in love instantly. "Uh. . . you're pretty, too. Uh. . . yeah, pretty. Do you uh. . . wanna uh. . . go get some food?"

"I love you," Lucius said.

"Uh. . . yeah, me too. . . so, was that a yes?" Crabbe asked.

"What on _earth_ is going on now?" McGonagall cried.

Draco, Ginny, and Ron shared secretive smiles.

"Oh, gee, I don't know, Professor. Looks like my father's found the love of his life," Draco replied, shrugging.

"Son, I've decided to move in with Vincente. You and your sister can share the mansion now. Oh, and I'm going to deposit all my money into your account at Gringott's. I don't need money now that I have Vincente," Lucius said.

"So uh. . . how about that food?" Crabbe asked. Lucius and Crabbe went skipping away to the Great Hall, arm-in-arm.

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A/N: A big, huge, whopping THANK YOU goes out to everyone who has reviewed. It makes me feel special. : - )

I think I'm going to write an epilogue to finish up this story. Afterwards I want to write another story, but I don't have any ideas. Any story requests? Just don't ask me to write a sequel, because I've already decided I'm not going to.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD FANFIC!!!!!!!

As always, but in case you forgot, R/R!!!!!

-Stacy


	7. Epilogue: The Aftermath of Love Potion N...

Epilogue: The Aftermath of Love Potion Number Nine

Well, they say that all's well that ends well, but in this case, all were not well with some. That's okay, though, because the not well stuff happened to the people no one likes.

Eloise Midgen finally got a handle on plastic surgery magic and became so gorgeous that Goyle was blinded upon seeing her brilliance. She dumped him and went to the Sweetheart's Dance with Ron.

Ginny and Draco went to the Sweetheart's Dance together, of course, and everyone was quite shocked to see Draco acting so friendly to the Gryffindors. By the end of the night the Sorting Hat (who made a surprise appearance as the DJ) declared him an honorary Gryffindor, since Draco had changed quite dramatically since his first year.

Harry and Hermione lived happily every after, fighting only about once a day. Harry became the commander-in-chief of the DA, which defeated Voldemort and ruled the magic world for about three thousand years, until rabid _Lord of the Rings_ fans took hold. But no one was complaining because Orlando Bloom was the new leader, and he is just ever so much more good looking than Harry or any of his offspring.

Lucius and Crabbe moved in to Crabbe's bedroom together. It was rather cramped, but Mrs. Crabbe provided free milk and cookies, so they didn't complain. One day Lucius caught Crabbe cheating on him with the pool boy and promptly killed himself.

Narcissa Malfoy and the other pool boy lived happily for about a week, at which point she dumped him for the milkman. He eventually moved in with Pansy Parkinson, but. . . that's another story.

Daphne and Rex broke up 507 times before he finally proposed. They lived happily ever after, only fighting about 507 times per week.

All in all, most of the characters chronicled in this story ended up quite happy, in case you were wondering.

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A/N: Okay, I wrote this in about 20 minutes, so my apologies if all of it doesn't make sense. A lot of it is random, but hopefully it provided you with a sense of closure. Well anyway, thank you so much for reading my story!!!! This was a great experience for my first fan fic. All my reviewers –I love you to death. It really makes my day when I check my e-mail and see that I got a new review or two. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!

Any ideas for my next story? My creativity supply is dried up right now. Oh, and Happy Boxing Day! (Can someone please explain to me what Boxing Day is?!?!?!?)


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